Getting Bolder: The Joys of Sun, Sea, and Breeze

I’ve been on a quest ever since my husband passed away unexpectedly three years ago. A quest to survive. A quest to find myself. A quest to grow. It hasn’t been easy and there have been many potholes on the road, but I’ve learned how to climb back up out of them and eventually to cross the street to avoid them.I’m not the only one to have suffered this grave loss. I’ve met many women, and a few men, who have faced this particular demon and lived to tell the tale. That is one of the many reasons I knew I had found my people in Sisters on the Fly. My very first outing with them was a mere two months after my husband’s death. I will never forget how they listened empathetically then drew me in to a fun activity. Not to “get my mind off it”, but to show me a bigger worldview than I had been looking at. They led me, loved me, and gave me hope for a future filled with joy and adventure.

I wouldn’t say I was a particularly timid person before I became a widow, though I suffered nearly all my life with anxiety and insecurities. (Thank you, genetics!) I was much better during the seven years I had my husband, but I was thrust back into a world of uncertainties after I lost him. How was I going to get through this? How do I do that thing that needs doing? I grabbed the bull by the horns when I went out two weeks after the funeral and bought a little travel trailer and took off for three months on a solo adventure in the mountains of Colorado. That was a pretty bold move I suppose, for someone who had never really camped before. But, by golly, this was the life we were planning and HE died…I did not!

After that first year, I knew I loved the vagabond, gypsy lifestyle living in an RV provided so I sold my house and upgraded to a 30′ camper and hit the road. I’ve been documenting the journey and have converted a fair share of women to the RVing life and the Sisterhood. I love it when one of the readers on my blog says, “You’ve inspired me…I bought a trailer!” And really…I won’t stop till we’re ALL Sisters!

One of the wonderful by products of writing my blog is meeting some really great women….many walking the same or similar path as me. Carol McGarity is one of them. Carol lost her husband many years ago and she confided in me that she was feeling a little stuck. She admired what I was doing but wasn’t sure she could do it. Many of us can relate to that, can’t we? We worry about being out there alone. We worry about what will happen if we break down on a deserted stretch of road. We worry about towing and backing up and emptying the dreaded blackwater tank. I repeatedly assured Carol, once you get over the initial decision, the rest is a piece of cake. You just put one foot in front of the other, check your list, and do the next thing. It wasn’t too long till I received that triumphant message that said, “Well, I figured if you could do this so soon after losing your husband, then surely I can!” And she went out and bought her beloved Lady Bug and joined the Sisters!

That was very brave of Carol. And now she’s being even more brave. She had a health scare this winter and started having treatments every month that is somewhat akin to running her blood through a dishwasher. They aren’t easy. We all know being sick is no fun. Being sick alone can be brutal. Carol is growing bolder every single day through this experience. She is one of my heroes!

Many Sisters have an easy transition because they’ve always been bold. But there are certainly a lot of Sisters who have earned their stripes…and their badges…the hard way. By facing fear head on, recognizing it for what it is, and moving forward to do that thing that scares them the most.

 

Ginny McKinney, Sister #3537

Follow Ginny, Author, Blogger, and Speaker at Marshmallow Ranch 

Stay tuned to this spot as we explore the transitions that we encounter in this march through life. I’ll be featuring some amazing women as we discover the myriad ways we Sisters adjust to the changes thrust upon us. I hope you’ll grab a cup of coffee and sit a spell by the fire with me.